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Looks cute but a bit useless.

I bought this for my sons 1st birthday as it gets brilliant reviews on amazon, doesn't need batteries which is great, and generally looked like a fun little toy.

This has been stuck at the bottom of the toy box for several months now and has had very little attention paid to it. The string that is supposedly to pull the phone along is exceptionally short, and I know that this is for the kids safety, but it means that it is impossible for my kid to pull it along, he is more carrying it dangling on the end of the string which defeats the purpose of it being there.

My son occasionally likes to use the little red phone and put it to his ear pretending to say hello, but he isn't that interested in the dialler.

The only times my son plays with it is when i go and get it out of the toy box and sit and play with him with it. There isn't really much to it and he loses interest very quickly.

It has eyes that wobble when pulled along, but as earlier mentioned, the string is very short so cant be pulled along properly which means the eyes don't really wobble. It needs an adult to sit on the floor and show the child what it does, and it is fun at first for the first few minutes or so but then quickly gets pretty boring.

I'm quite disappointed as I bought it based on the rave reviews thinking my kid would love it, but sadly he doesn't.

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Good but not interesting enough

This is a lovely, simple, plastic telephone which makes a ringing bell noise when the dial is turned. It has wheels and a string for pulling it along and a happy smiley face on the front. The dial is very easy to turn, even for a baby just batting at it and the receiver is nice and chunky and easy for them to grasp. It is easy enough to wipe clean (except if food or milk gets into the dial section). My son's main annoyance with it was that the string was not as long as he would have liked but I guess this is probably for health and safety reasons. Despite the fact that this doesn't resemble the telephones in most homes these days, it seems to appeal to the little ones and they understand that it is a telephone. One thing to bear in mind if purchasing this is that it's appeal is limited due to its simplicity. They soon grow out of playing with it.

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A fine phone for the under fives

This Fisher Price toy has been in production since 1962 so it must have something going for it! So, what is it and what is the appeal?

The Fisher Price Chatter Phone is a plastic pull along toy that resembles an old style dial up telephone, with the addition of four wheels and a cute face. A string at the front allows the phone to be pulled. This movement makes the eyes bob up and down. The bright red receiver can be lifted to receive those important calls, and is attached with a spiral blue cord to the main body of the phone. The yellow dial has finger size indentations and can be spun making a ringing noise. It is recommended for ages 12-36 months and retails for anything between £5 (Home Bargains) and £8.99 (Asda or Toys R Us). There are a couple of variations on the standard phone - a pink one and a Toy Story themed one.

I bought the phone for a mere £1.50 in a charity shop. It is well built and looks like it will survive a few more owners after my son. I was looking for a pull along toy for my little boy who is just 7 months. I felt this toy would be safe for him to play with and would be interesting for him. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw this. I think the face was immediatley appealing to him. When I had cleaned it he couldn't wait to get hold of it. He enjoys pushing it and taking the receiver off. After some help from Mum he learnt to use the dial and to pull the phone towards him using the string. Some weeks on this is still a popular choice that engages him for ten minutes plus (a lot for a 7 month old!). He had three little friends around last week and this toy was plucked out of the toy pile by all of them, introducing a new concpet to them all - sharing!

The Chatter phone has several benefits for children's development. First, it encourages social skills. My little boy is too young to pretend to make a call but he is engaged and listening when I pretend that Daddy is on the line. Second, it encourages motor skills. A crawling or walking child can drag this along by the string. My little boy will sit and pull so has learnt about cause and effect - that the string makes the toy come closer. The whirring noise made when the phone moves also rewards the child for pulling. Dialing a number needs some fine motor control, more so than other toys my little one has. He, and his friends, persisted with inserting their fingers and pushing the dial around, partly I think because of the ringing noise this makes. This seemed to intrigue them.

Some reviews on the Chatterphone note that it 'doesn't do much'. I think that compared to some modern day toys it probably does less, however, I think it does enough to entertain without overwhelming and what it does it does well. I wonder if perhaps the recommended age range starts a little old. For a seven month old (and I had a sample of four!) this is highly entertaining stuff and I can see how the play can evolve as he gets older. However, a two or three year old may find this a little underwhelming. It's a solid four stars from me, my little one and his three chums.

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An OK toy, may be worth a try

This toy was given to my son when he was 2 years old.

First of all, this toy seems very well made and has stood the test of time with my son. He has tantrums which result in toys getting thrown quite often and this has not broken so it seems to be quite well manufactured.

I like the old style dialer but I am unsure whether or not children will really understand it as most phones nowadays have buttons, they may not link it. My son wasn't quite sure what to do with it and I had to show him numerous times, but he is fine with it now. It isn't a huge issue and it may have just been my son.

There is a little string which you can pull the phone around on but when my son did this it quite often flipped over and the string a little short (he is a tall boy) so in order for it to work correctly he had to be in the crawling position. I understand why they cannot have a long cord though due to risk of choking but it would have been nice for it to work efficiently.

The receiver on the phone is good but again the cord is too small and i found that in order to use it you have to hold the base of the telephone quite close to you rather than keep it on the floor which is a little disappointing.

The good thing about this toy is the price, it is inexpensive so it isn't a great loss if it's not quite what you're expecting.

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Good quality basic toy phone

I bought this toy from Kiddicare for £5 before Christmas, for my son who is now 14 months old. It is a simple toy and is really lightweight. It feels really basic and cheap, but it is actually quite strong and sturdy, my son throws it about and it has never broken yet.

It doesn't really do much, it is very simple and basic. It is basically just a phone, and it has a face. It has a red string at the front so you child can pull it along and the eyes move up and down when it moves. The first time my son saw the eyes move he found it really funny and kept giggling, but now he takes no notice of them anymore! There is a round ring which you turn round to 'ring' someone, and it makes a ringing sound. The actual phone is attached by a string and even a baby cannot put the phone to their ear without having to pull the whole thing off the floor, as the cord is ridiculously short!

My son doesn't take much interest in this toy. If I get it out and sit with him he will play with it for a minute or so, he doesn't seem to see anything interesting about it or anything to explore on it, but maybe when he is a bit older he will realise what it is and what he can do with it.

The colours are bright on this toy, but it doesn't catch my babies attention. He doesn't seem to like it, but this doesn't mean its a bad toy! May be he is just too young for it yet, but I will hang on to it for when he is older.

This certainly is very simple and basic, it's a good price for what it is, but the cord for the phone really needs to be longer, it is so short! I don't know why they made it like this, if the cord was longer, it would be a lot better. I would recommend it if you are looking for this type of toy for an older child, it is cheap, feels well made and like it would last.

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it's okay

Little B was bought this for her second birthday by some friends of ours who told us that apparently this is a toy that we had when we were younger. I didn't recognise it from playing with it myself but I did recognise it from the Toy Story 3 film! Since Little B has had this she hasn't played with it very often, it doesn't seem to capture her attention or imagination but when she does play with it she seems to have a lot of fun with doing so!

It is suitable from age 1 year although I cannot see why a child slightly younger cannot enjoy turning the dial or playing with it so long as they are supervised.

What is it?

It is a plastic phone which is like the old fashioned telephones that our grandparents may have had. I must admit that in our holiday home we actually still have a phone just like this (well without the bright colours and smiley face!!) It has the dial on the top of it which clicks when turned just like the old style phones would do and this clicking is what really appeals to children! It has a piece of string, very much like a shoe lace which comes out from underneath it and can be pulled along with it. At it's sides are red wheels so that it can be pulled along smoothly and easily. The phone is mainly red and white so it is quite striking with these two contrasting colours but there are some other colours too- a yellow dial, blue base and a rainbow pattern beneath the dial.

Playing with it

When Little B plays with this she mainly uses it to use her imagination and pretend that she is on the phone to someone. When we first had this she didn't recognise it as being a phone as obviously it looks nothing like a telephone that she would be used to seeing but once we had shown her how it worked she soon gathered what it was! She likes to pick up the receiver and chat away into the phone pretending she is talking to Grandma and she likes to tell her about her day. I enjoy watching this and hearing the things she comes out with. Occasionally she will use this toy as a pull along one, sometimes the lead gets stuck around the wheel though if she gives it too much slack and she is unable to get it out herself and needs an adult to help. This can get her a bit frustrated but I guess it is just one of the negatives that comes with any pull along toy of this nature. The part which she doesn't really play with is the dial. We have shown her what it does but she isn't interested in turning it and I assume this is because except for making a bit of a noise when you do so it doesn't do anything else so she isn't really bothered about it. I imagine if she had have had this when she was a bit younger this may have been the element to the toy which she played with the most so perhaps this is an age dependent part of the toy.

Quality

This toy is made by Fisher-Price which always offer good quality toys. I have never found any of their items to be of a poor quality and this one doesn't let them down. It is robust, this has been knocked into walls and actually thrown on some occasions and it's withstood that! I feel as though it is perfectly safe so am not concerned about my toddler playing with this despite it having a lead on it, the lead isn't long enough for any accidents to occur but obviously if you are concerned then do supervise your child with it. The paint hasn't chipped off it still is looking just as good as new except for the few scuff marks on the wheels. Because it is all made from plastic it can be cleaned easily.

Conclusion

This toy is not Little B's favourite. It does tend to stay in her toy box for a while as though forgotten but then when she does come across it and gets it out she plays with it for a good while and seems to enjoy doing so. She currently likes to run up and down the hallway pulling it along and finds it funny how she can make it chase her!

I don't think it's the most exciting of toys really but it is like it says on the box- brilliantly basic. It doesn't do loads of different things but then it doesn't need to either, as what it does do can entertain and educate children enough as it is- it can encourage them to walk, to use their imaginations, to learn their numbers, to improve their co-ordination etc.

I have seen this for various places in the shops from around £5= £8 which I think is pretty good value for money especially since this appears in the Toy Story film now. For that price i think it is worth it.It is a shame that little B isn't as interested in it as perhaps I thought she would be but she still does enjoy playing with it when she decides she wants to. Perhaps if she had had this from a younger age she would get more use out of it.

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A basic but timeless toy

We are just back from our first holiday with our 10 month old daughter, and with some lengthy car journeys I wanted to have some new toys for my daughter to keep her amused rather than the toys she was already used to. Most of the new toys I bought before we left, however whilst on holiday we called in at a Morrisons store to get a few bits and pieces and I noticed they were offering this Fisher Price Brilliant Basics Chatter Telephone for £4.70 which is the cheapest I had seen it, and I thought it would keep my little girl amused in the car or in the different places we stayed.

This chatter telephone is part of the Fisher Price Brilliant Basics range and is actually aimed at children between 12 to 36 months, however I can see no reason why a younger child couldn't play or enjoy this, and I had no hesitation in giving it to my 10 month old.

There are several features of this chatter telephone. Firstly, there is a red pull cord so baby/child can pull the telephone along the floor or behind them as they walk. My daughter isn't walking so she likes to just pull it across the floor, and the cord is a good length for her to be able to reach and pull.

The second feature of this toy is the bright, cheery face with big eyes that move to open and close when the telephone is pulled along with the cord. This actually took my daughter quite a while to notice until I pointed it out a few times, and now she looks at the eyes and giggles as they move when she pulls the toy.

The third feature is obviously the phone itself which is attached to the base with a curly cord, in the style of an old telephone. This is a great feature, as my daughter loves to pull the phone up to her ear now, and it doesn't matter about the phone received getting lost as it is attached. It is also a good size for her to grab and pull up to her ear and is more like the size of a normal phone receiver.

The last feature of the phone is the number dial, which when you turn to will immediately reverse the turn, in the style of an old phone. At the moment, this is a little hard for my daughter to manage, as she hasn't got enough motor skills or understanding to be able to do this herself, although she will watch me do it, but it doesn't seem to appeal at the moment. She is much more interested in pulling the cord, watching the face, and lifting the phone receiver to try and hear for a voice.

I was so glad that I got this phone for my daughter, and it served its purpose well, as it did keep her amused on car journeys as well as in the places we stayed at. I wouldn't say that it was her favourite toy, but she does enjoy playing with it, and I suppose compared to some of the all singing all dancing toys, it is basic, but it is part of the basics range, and I think it is a timeless toy, so I would recommend it, and am very happy with my purchase, particularly at the price I paid.

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Decent cheap toy

Now, I'm about to sound really old, and to be fair in some peoples eyes I am really old (33!!! How did this even happen????) but I remember living in a time when everyone had phones like these in their house. And you know, phoning that house phone was pretty much the only option you had for contacting the person you were after. You couldn't try a phoning a mobile, or texting or facebooking, if they didn't answer the big old fashioned phone (or their mum didn't answer and then yell out the back door for them) you were screwed.

So the fact that there is a toy for babies based on this old type of phone seems a bit unusual to me (a phone with wheels and a smiley face is fine, that's not unusual at all). Anyway, I liked the retro fun and bought one for my son anyway. I figured if they'd been around since I was a baby and they still made them now, they must be good.

Right, this is a very basic toy. The child can dial on the phone dialer, they can pull the phone along by the string (and watch the wobbly eyes wobble as it rolls along), they can chew on the receiver, throw it out of their cot, generally swing it about (the rope bit attaching the receiver and the main body of the phone is quite short which can be a bit annoying, but I think it's to avoid babies strangling themselves so you can't really argue with that) and that's about it.

My son has always enjoyed playing with the phone. Right away (from about 6 months) he learnt to pull the phone along (well more of a 'get over here phone' type action were he didn't move but the phone was whipped over to him). It's well made so can take a good battering, plus it not expensive - £8 on amazon, maybe a bit cheaper in some shops.

I know I've said it doesn't do much but i have hopes that the boy might go back to this toy again in the future when playing - maybe even play at using it as a phone, when pretending to time travel naturally.

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A classic toddler toy

Toddlers love to imitate their parents and a toy telephone is one of the first interactive toys that will appeal to sociable little ones.

We already have a collection of toy phones for babies but I couldn't resist snapping up one of these classic Fisher Price pull along phones, well in advance of my youngest son's first birthday. I paid just £2.50 for this in the annual Sainsbury's half-price toy sale.Even at the full £5 selling price, this is a really inexpensive but lovely toy for toddlers, which is well worth the money and readily available from most toy stockists.

One of the reasons that I was drawn to this toy was because it is such a classic toy that has changed little from its original 1960s design. It is based on traditional rather than modern handsets, complete with a rotating dial to turn and select the numbers using your fingers. I suspect the reason that this toy continues to be so successful is that so many adults who were growing up in the 1970s and 1980s will have fond memories of this toy from their own childhoods. The nostalgic retro appeal was certainly part of the charm for me.

Luckily, as well as bringing back fond memories, this is actually a well-loved toy too, as far as my toddler is concerned. I did wonder whether the retro styling would be quite as effective and attractive to a modern toddler, as this bears no resemblance to the phones that we use nowadays. My son has no difficulty in recognising and using this as a phone. He picked up the receiver instantly when he first received this and gave a cheery 'hiya' into it. He often sits happily by himself chattering away in nonsensical but contented babbling. To be fair, he does use any random object to use as a phone, from the TV remote control to his own hand but this is by far his favourite instrument for chatting to his 'baby friends'!

I gave this to my son on his first birthday, at which point he was crawling and had started to take his first few wobbly steps. With a recommended minimum age of one years plus, I did find that the toy really came into its own after a few weeks. Once my little one was a confident walker and could master both walking without falling over as well as pulling this or carrying it along, this has become one of his favourite little toys. The wheels on the phone turn easily and the main lead to pull this about with is of a decent length. My little one tends not to drag this about in this fashion very much, however, preferring to chat and go - this is very much a mobile phone as far as he is concerned!

Another cute feature is that the eyes on the phone actually wobble about slightly as the phone is pulled about. Sadly, this isn't a feature that is really noticed or appreciated by my little one but it does add to the charm and the character of this classic toy, as far as I am concerned.

The main drawback to this phone is that, for obvious health and safety reasons, the cord that attaches the handset to the body of the phone is very short. This means that the phone itself dangles around my son's body as he walks around chatting into this. This is one of the reasons why a toddler needs to be fairly confident and steady on his feet before being comfortable using this. Fortunately, the phone as a whole is fairly lightweight and my son is able to cart this about without too much trouble.

With no need to add batteries and a very small price tag, this is a lovely old-fashioned toy that still manages to capture the imagination of a modern toddler and comes highly recommended by me.

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A modern classic to be enjoyed by all babies

The Fisher Price Chatterphone is a modern classic. I had one when I was a child as did my husband and they were certainly favourites of ours. I was therefore really pleased when my mum bought one for my 10 month old son for Christmas. She had seen them on offer in one of the supermarkets before Christmas and couldn't resist the chance to get him something that brought back so many happy memories of mine and my brothers childhood.

The Chatterphone's popularity has recently soared thanks to it's appearance in the Toy Story 3 film which has given it a new lease of life. The toy itself is very simple. It comprises a moulded plastic body with a dial that rings when spun around, and a receiver attached by a piece of elastic. The phone can be pulled along by a string at the front which makes the eyes of the phone go up and down.

It is aimed at babies over 12 months, however, my 10 month old loves it and although he is probably not yet benefitting from all of its features at the moment, he enjoys sucking the receiver!

It seems strange that the phone remains so popular despite the fact that it bears no resemblance to the modern telephone, however, I am sure that in the future my baby will enjoy pretending to phone his friends on it just as much as I, and thousands of children before him, have done!

At such a low price, you can't go wrong. Babies will have enjoyment from this toy for a long time.

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retro toy

I bought my son the Fisher Price Chatter telephone for no other reason than pure nostalgia. I remember me and my brothers and sisters all playing with this toy as youngsters and thought it would be nice for him to play with a toy that I had - toys have moved on so much since I was young that there is not much else about that I would have had. At £5.99, I felt that this was a nice, reasonably priced toy for him to play with.

The phone is basic - and modelled on the old fashioned phones that I shouldn't imagine my son will have much contact with when he is older! The phone has a bright yellow dial on the front which can be turned using a finger. The receiver sits on top of the phone and this is bright red. It is attached with a short, thin blue string/rope material that is spiralled as a telephone cord would be. The front of the phone has a thin red cord attached and the phone has four red wheels, so it can be used as a pull along toy. The front of the phone has a smiling face and googly eyes, which move as the phone is pulled along. The phone makes a sharp ringing noise as the dial is turned and also makes a noise at it is pulled along.

My son first played with the phone at 8 months - it is suitable from 12 months but I felt that, as long as he was supervised, he could benefit from it at that age. There are no small parts and it is really just the cords that he needs to be watched with. He loved to pull at the dial, but has only recently learnt to use it properly with his fingers - it has helped to develop his manipulation skills. He also likes to pick up the receiver (although this is usually to bite on!). The cord between the receiver and the phone is very short and he does find this frustrating sometimes as he lifts the whole phone when he just wants the receiver. I understand why this has to be short to prevent any choking hazards, but at the same time can understand his frustration!

There is not a great deal to this toy, especially not compared to a lot of his toys that have buttons and noises galore! The wheels hold some interest to my son, as does the dial but, other than that, there is not a lot for him to fiddle with. As he gets older, I am sure that this will be of benefit for role-play games and help develop language skills. His older friends love to play with the phone and 'pretend' to ring people and none seem to question the old-fashioned dial!

In summary, this is a nice basic toy that holds some use for younger babies but is probably better used as a prop for role-playing once language skills are being developed. For the price, it is a nice toy and is well made and durable.

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A nice present for a young child

This is a review of Fisher-Price's Chatter Telephone from their brilliant basics range. You may remember it from your own childhood as it's a classic toy that has been on the market a long time!

Description of the phoneThe style of the phone is an old fashioned dial up telephone. This makes a pleasant tinkly noise when you move the dial round. The receiver and mouthepiece is also removable and on a short cord although it has no other features. The phone has a smiley face on the front and also is on wheels which are fairly loose so it works well on carpet. The other feature perhaps most famous on this phone is the piece of string on the front which enables your child to drag the phone round with them! The entire phone is made of plastic and is nice bright colours. No sharp edges or pieces they can swallow so pretty safe I think.

Extra featureWhen you drag the phone, the eyes on the front of the phone move a little which is quite cute!

CostWe were bought this phone as a birthday present for our daughter but a quick look on Amazon tells me it can be bought for as little as a fiver.

BrandThe Fisher Price Brand is very well known and trusted. I have other toys made by them and have been happy with their performance.

Brilliant Basics?For a basic toy this is pretty good. It's nice quality and has enough things on it to do to keep children occupied for a while.

In useMy daughter has pretty much ignored this toy despite me putting it in front of her on numerous occasions. It is suitable for age 1+ so she is in the correct category (just). She may use it more when she is walking better as she is just staggering about at the moment and we are working on her balance! Having said that she has a toy dog on a string that she loves playing with so perhaps the phone just doesn't do it for her!

Old fashioned? The style of the phone is almost obsolete so perhaps this is a toy which nears the end of it's consumer life now. Although that would be a shame as it is functional as a toy.

PerksAlthough my daughter is not 100 percent into the phone, I like this toy because it comes in just one part! The mouthpiece is attached to the phone and no other pieces come away. That helps when tidying up as I have mentioned in other reviews, jigsaws are banned in my house! Another plus is that this toy requires no batteries which could save you a fortune in the long run! I've never used so many batteries in my life since having a child (except when I used a walkman in the 80s!!).

Final wordThis is a great toy that you just don't know if it will be a hit or not with your child (as with all toys). It is very easy to clean and encourages active play. I think my daughter prefers playing with the box it came in though!

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A blast from the past that is still great fun!

After my mum had said she had got my daughter the Fisher-Price pull along phone for Christmas forgetting it was actually the pull along puppy I was quite disappointed. I remembered the phone from my childhood and decided to buy it for my daughter instead.

*~ The phone ~*

The phone is almost as I remember it from my childhood, the only thing that is slightly different is the shape. Where mine used to be more box shaped, my daughters phone has more rounded edges. It is quite unusual seeing an old fashioned twist dial instead of the buttons used on phones in today's society.

The phone has a cute little face on the front and when it is being pulled along the eyes will move up and down. The dial, once in use, will make a cute jingling noise. On the whole the phone is mostly coloured white, with splashes of red and blue around the wheels and receiver, exactly like my old one!Fisher-Prices chatter phone can be found in a lot of toy stockists for anywhere in the region of £6-£10. It's suitable for 1 years old upwards.

*~ Our experiences ~*

I love this phone, it brings back so many memories from my childhood so I really purchased it for a bit of nostalgia (although it was only 20 or so years ago!), but it has been a hit with my daughter too.

I bought this when she was around 14 months old, and is, very frequently, still played with now. She loves walking backwards pulling this along just so that she can watch the phones eyes bouncing up and down, not taking any notice where she's going and banging into a lot of furniture. She also likes to take Alfie (our Fisher-Price pull along pup) for a walk whilst pulling the phone along in the other hand, they have the same length cords so walk next to each other as she is pulling.

The only one downside to this toy is the cord from the main body of the telephone to the receiver. It's quite short, which is obviously a good thing in younger children to prevent it from strangling them, but my daughter has never been able to make a phone call with it whilst sitting on the floor without holding the receiver to her ear and the main body of the phone dangling down beside her, or having to strain her neck down to put her ear to the receiver. As it's recommended to children above the age of 1 I would of thought that they could do some sort of measurements to make it a little easier on them making calls.

Despite the problem with the cord my daughter loves adding the phone into her other role playing activities, she phones up and orders a take away while I cook it and deliver etc. She also uses it to 'ring' other family members, and I believe it is helping her to string words together into a conversation.

I'd definitely recommend this toy. It is simple, yet fun. With no lights or music it isn't as interactive as most toys these days but I think that's a good thing, especially for parents that are being driven round the bend from them! I can see why Fisher-Price are still selling this chatter phone, it really is a golden classic

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Simple, yet fantastic and fun

This phone has been around for decades! Well, I've only been alive for two decades and I remember having this toy as a nipper!

I simply had to buy this for my daughter a few years ago, and now I have put it in my sons' toy box for when he can play!

I bought it from Tesco for about £7- such a good price it's hard to leave behind! The phone has no detachable parts, which is great if your children are notorious for losing bits and pieces. The cord holding the handset onto the base of the phone is nowhere near long enough to cause any damage, so rest assured your precious little one won't injure themselves. The little lead that you use to pull the phone along is also so minuscule, no damage can be done. The wheels make a 'jingle- jangle' noise as they turn, and the eyes on the phone go up and down with the wheels. The dial is a real 'old skool' dial and makes a 'jingle- jangle' sound as baby turns it.

The phone has a happy, smiley face, and a colourful board under the dial. The plastic this phone is made from is very robust and has been swung around the room and slammed into doors and hasn't shattered or split. The thread has also never frayed.

A very simple toy, but a great classic; not to be missed!

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Lovely little first phone

I am a part time child minder and look after my niece and nephew, while their mum goes out to work three days a week and it's good to keep something in the house for them to play with as they are over around at mine so much.

The Fisher Price Chatter Phone has been around for ages, I had one and I think even my mum had one when she was a baby and of course over the years it has been revamped a little. My niece also has her own Chatting Telephone that stays in my house, along with a mountain of toys, because I look after her while her mum goes out to work three days a week and it's good to keep something in the house for her to play with as she and her brother are over around at mine so much, my niece just loves it, it doesn't really do much but it does allow you and your child to play make believe phone calls which is great for encouraging and stimulating a child's imaginative play skills.

The phone itself is white with a big happy face on it, it has a spin dial kind of number template and looks like a real telephone with a face on it and brightly coloured numbers and red handle attached to it by red string.

This phone also has four wheels and so can be pulled around from place to place, and it makes a strange chatty kind of noise when it is pulled. My niece loves taking her phone by the handles and running it up and down the room.

A good thing about this toy is that because it is quite neutrally coloured, just reds yellows and a bit of blue, it is suitable for both little boys and girls to play with, this means that you can keep this toy and let other children that come into your house play with it or pass it on as a hand me down to any other child (even your own) regardless of their sex, giving the toy more use. Our Chatting Phone, which is the one that I am reviewing now, was bought last Christmas and is still in great condition.

When my niece first got this toy she loved it and she quickly learnt how to use it, picking up the handle and listening down the line to hear if anyone would say hello, although there isn't any conversation from this toy, it isn't hard to sit down with your child and play make believe that there is someone to talk to one the phone or that you are talking on the phone to them.

I bought this for my niece to stay in my house when her mum went back to work last Christmas, I paid around £8 for it, but I can see it on the internet for around £5 which is a great price for a little sturdy phone toy like this.

This toy is suitable for years 1 and up.

Overall my niece gets a lot of fun out of this toy, she really only goes to it now when someone like myself or her granny, is already on the phone as she has had it a while and has got quite bored of it, but she does play with it sometimes and for the price of it, it is worth the money. It can teach children their numbers 1-9 and also younger children can be amused while you are on the phone, by playing with their own phone themselves.